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Oba?

When do you think it is appropriate to join OBA (ontario badminton association)? I'm 19 and just starting university. So one of my many goals is to be competitive in the Ontario badminton circuit. I'm training 2 times a week and i'm a decent player, intermediate level.

hi jchan, there really is no limit on when you should join the oba, but sad to say, your ideal (prime) time to join has just past, which is to join as a junior with age classes (Under 19, Under 16...). age class does not affect the adult circuit as much aside from the occasional U23 tournaments.
and on top of that, you're just starting university, i bid you best of luck, but unless your university program requires very little time from you, i hardly think you'll be able to find the time / drive all around to all the tournaments you had hoped to attend cause some of them are really out of the area. but this is not to discourage you, i say, by all means, join OBA, play in the one or two tournaments that are close by to get some experience. Or try out for varsity, which is always a good challenge. Good luck

19 is just the passing mark to just start joining OBA cause now if you plan to play OBA tournaments, you have to play U23, unless you're like a top player and made it ofsaa all high school years and finished top 4 or something. But since you are training twice a week, and to get better is to get tournament experience, it's really your choice. The good thing about OBA is that it only lasts one year and then you have to renew your card. Where do you train? MCAC (i read your post about free badminton at MCAC)? I just had a questiona about that place, since I know some people that go to MCBC
1) is it packed full most of the time? do you need to be a member of the church?
2) how many courts are there and it is nylon/feather?
3) the MCAC site says it starts at 8, and you say 7, don't know which is correct.

GL with your decision and hope to hear some answers cause I plan to come by one day...

oh no. MCAC is just leisure play. I'm playing at badminton birds.... there are competitive players there and i'm slowly making my way up to the top! are most tournaments require you to be an OBA member to participate?

well depends what tournaments you want to play... but all the OBA sanctioned tournaments require you to have membership in order for you to participate... more for record keeping and stats keeping for your ranking points.

To clarify.. u don't necessarily have to purchase an OBA membership when u enter a tournament. You can always have the option of paying an additional fee on top of the tournament entry when you play instead of the membership. This is only useful if you play one tournament a year. It's better to just buy the card. Right now.. OBA tournaments that are approaching are Ontario C/D/E and Ontario Bs... You might as well wait till the fall when the season starts again.

Also expect that most OBA tournaments to be outside the GTA.. So you will be required to drive around ontario to play.

I agree with DarthHowie about waiting until next season to join, simply becuase the tournies are mostly over.

However, I really think you should join next season. Don't worry about the age. If you really want to get better, joining the OBA is a great idea. You will run into tough players at times but so what, thats how you get better.

You said you play at Badminton Birds. Do they have singles there and can people drop in?

I agree with DarthHowie about waiting until next season to join, simply becuase the tournies are mostly over.

However, I really think you should join next season. Don't worry about the age. If you really want to get better, joining the OBA is a great idea. You will run into tough players at times but so what, thats how you get better.

You said you play at Badminton Birds. Do they have singles there and can people drop in?

They do allow drop ins, its a $10 fee for drop ins. It depends on how many people are there. Like usually on Saturdays, theres 6 courts but quite empty and you can pick up anyone play to willing to play singles. I'm not sure about the other days.

I'll probably look for a coach out there and have them teach me about skills and tactics. I probably want to train for singles, because I know a lot about doubles play but I lack knowledge in singles and that's what i want to get into.

no worries man, i'm in the same spot as you...well, one year older >_>...and nothing is impossible...you just gotta work through it...there is such a thing as a late bloomer, so you can still have a chance to be competitive when you're old...however, it doesn't mean you'll have success as soon as you join...get ready to be smacked around, and losing money often =\...university makes students poor enough, but if you're a training athlete too...well, let's just say you better hope your strings/rackets/shuttle supply lasts you a while lol

no worries man, i'm in the same spot as you...well, one year older >_>...and nothing is impossible...you just gotta work through it...there is such a thing as a late bloomer, so you can still have a chance to be competitive when you're old...however, it doesn't mean you'll have success as soon as you join...get ready to be smacked around, and losing money often =\...university makes students poor enough, but if you're a training athlete too...well, let's just say you better hope your strings/rackets/shuttle supply lasts you a while lol

haha kevin..you are totally speaking from experience! But any how back to topic, Im 19 as well and i play for my university team and i believe that this was the year i improved the most, mind you i've never taken any sort of coaching or paid training camps, i learnt most of my stuff on my own and from some friends. The one thing that can keep you up at the top is perseverance! If you have a goal, then go for it with full steam ahead. Also, to enhance your own skills, ploay against different people because you will learn to adapt to many different playing styles, thus creating a variation of shots and techniques. And Azn_Romeo is right...get ready to be smacked around like a rag doll...but goodluck with your future in Badminton =]

How much does it cost for OBA membership and renewal? In most tournament documents, I read that there's a $10 entitlement fee, and other people are saying OBA is $50 for membership, what's the difference?

I just want to confirm... I heard that at your OBA debut tournament; if you win your first game you will get a large amount of ranking points? Like OBA would rack up your points because you won your first game?

It really depends on who you beat. For your debut, you'll get the number of points equivalent to the highest ranked person that you beat (for that specific event).

So if you join the OBA as a beginner, but then improve to an intermediate player, the gathering of points is much more difficult because you only get 2/3 of the points of someone who has more points than you. That's compared to starting as an intermediate and beating someone to take 100% of their points in your debut. But everyone has to start somewhere.